Early Life
Born in 1968 in White Settlement, a community in Fort Worth, Texas, Fernando Palomo hails from a Mexican American family. Raised in a bilingual household dominated by Spanish, Fernando was exposed to a rich cultural and artistic tapestry from a young age. His aunt, a known artist specializing in drawings and fashion illustrations from the 50s and 60s, served as an early artistic influence and mentor.

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Education and Early Career
After graduating high school in 1986, Fernando briefly resided in Edwards, Colorado, before returning to Texas to concentrate on his art. He currently resides in Austin, where he applies his skills at Cycleast and showcases his artwork at Unchained.Art Contemporary Gallery.
His innate artistic talent was evident early on; even as a first grader, he transformed simple classroom assignments into intricate projects. While most children drew simple, age-appropriate responses, Fernando chose to create a multi-dimensional portrait of the teacher with a three-quarter-angle view. This led him to pursue commercial art and drawing at a specialized high school, followed by studies in visual communications at the Art Institute of Dallas.

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Artistic Influences
Inspired by the vibrant music scene in Dallas's Deep Ellum area, Fernando began to explore illustration. His work was also influenced by 80s pop art, comic books, and graffiti artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat. Fernando designed and decorated music venues and clubs, creating large-scale paintings and murals with Havana Cuba, western, and modern rock themes. Gaining recognition especially for his large-scale murals, he started exhibiting in Dallas and Fort Worth and showed in venues such as Embargo and Lola's. Inspired by Surrealism, Fernando immersed himself in drawing, painting, and the self-study of art here in the US and abroad.

Travel and Exploration
In his 20s, Fernando's wanderlust took him across Europe and Asia, enriching his artistic palette, which still today informs his works reflecting influences from his extensive travels. Upon returning to the U.S., in his 30’s he found a unique intersection between his art and his passion for cycling, often depicting cycling scenes in his work. His cycling was the leading factor moving to Colorado where he found inspiration riding in nature. During this time, Fernando frequently returned to Texas for work in private homes and businesses creating murals and specialty paintings.

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Recent Years
In 2011, Fernando relocated permanently to Austin to evolve his artistic journey. He debuted at the Commerce Gallery in Lockhart in 2020, although the pandemic interrupted his solo exhibition.

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Artistic Process
Fernando's creative rituals involve cycling, music, and even a good glass of wine. His artwork often reflects his daily emotional spectrum, leading to different painting styles depending on the time of day. He occasionally works on recycled materials, adding an urban flair to his pieces, which range from bright and vivid to dark and contemplative.
More recently he gravitated towards the more traditional canvas and paper illustrations. His layered, larger illustrations have a dreamy quality and combine impressionism, surrealism, and contemporary elements. His smaller illustrations and drawings communicate and imagine the dimensions of our world, roles within and humanity in ink or aquarelle. 
A little-known fact is that Fernando, a big fan of Segovia a well-known guitar player, sometimes finds himself playing guitar while sitting in front of the blank canvas that awaits him, creating space and presence.
A big element of his practice are doodles and sketches, and you will never run into Fernando without his sketching supplies. 
His subjects include images of men and women, contemplating their role in society and challenging the notion of objectivization. Fernando is not afraid to visualize his struggles with religion, choice and freedom.

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Claims to Fame
•    2009: Winner of the Art Battle in Eagle Vail, Colorado*
•    2010: Solo show at Loaded Joe's in Avon
•    2011: Winning poster for the US Cycling Challenge in Vail, CO
•    2020: Solo exhibition at Commerce Gallery, Lockhart
•    2023: Joined Unchained.art Contemporary Gallery, solo show planned for 2024 in Austin.
*Fun fact: he forgot his paints for the competition so had to borrow, improvise and create a minimalistic color composition